Then #Weatherstock is over for this year and we in ‘The Chosen Few’ had a splendid time as I am sure everyone else had too! A big ‘Thank You’ goes out to the LMB and the rest of the crew over at #Landroval. Excellent done!

So, what happens next?
We have started the work on getting everything ready for this years ‘Archet Aid Fayre’ over here on #laurelin. It is the third yearly event we have made, and this year we have put together an ‘Archet Aid Commitee’ to further develop the event in the right direction.
We have also put up a website and a forum for the event, where we invite ya all to join to help us with ideas/comments and to share your (hopefully fond) memories of the last two ‘Archet Aid’s with us all.

So, The Andune Ensemble were at a loose end yesterday. Not much happening it seemed so we decided to kick out the jams a little. Now, where could we go where we would be undisturbed and we could get some quality jammin’ in peace? Ah, top of Amon Sul, of course.

So, off we went and found the place deserted save the usual crebans. We quickly set up and were soon playing our socks off. Think those crebans liked us; I swear I heard one of them singing

“The night is for dancing but so is the day, The Andune Ensemble are playing today”

Well, you know, those birds must have carried that message way down to The Forsaken Inn where, no doubt, travellers heard and spread the word. Because, suddenly, folk started arriving to watch us play.

And more came, and more, and more….there were hundreds of them!

Man, we were smokin’, I swear my theorbo caught light. Quickly we performed Lark on the Strand, Noontide, Nights in White Satin and El Cumbanchero. The audience went wild.

Then, would you believe it, other bands insisted on playing and rudely shoved us off the stage. The gall! I mean, some of them were OK, I suppose, but they weren’t Andune. But I can hold a grudge and have entered names into my little black book. There will be consequences.

First up will be The Songburrow Strollers – they were the first to jump up and take over. Yeah, I got your names alright, I know where you live. And one dark night in The Shire, I will come and STEAL YOUR BISCUITS!

Graphics and Lag

Come to Weatherstock with your graphics turned to low before you reach the summit. You will be surprised what 500 characters in all their armor can do to even the mightiest of systems. Some hints:

Reduce resolution

Turn off shadows

Reduce draw distance

Turn off on-hit combat effects (under combat options)

Take off your hat and cloak! (They are usually graphically complex objects)

Turn off combat sound – the sound of crebain biting the dust every few seconds will soon drive you mad :)

If your computer is dying:

Look at the sky or the ground

Look away from large crowds of people

Don’t go anywhere near the mounted procession to Weatherstock!

If you notice your PC slowing down after a period then your memory may be at limit – log out of Lotro completely to free up memory then restart

When all else fails you can always watch a live stream! See below for details:

Rules and Regulations

Weatherstock is a concert of epic proportions, so we ask that you observe the following courtesies:

Force Emotes – Please refrain from “Forced” emotes, such as the Minstrels Irresistible Dance, Captains Kneel, Burglar’s Sneeze, or Champions Cheer. It contributes to lag and causes systems to freak out. Players may also opt out of receiving forced emotes by going to user settings, Social Options and uncheck the box that says Enable Involuntary Emotes

Fire – No campfires or fireworks are allowed at the summit of Amon Sul except by official LMB stage crew. ((We don’t want to burn out any graphics cards…))

Down in front – Please sit down in the front rows. Dancing AreaA designated dance area will be set up near the main stage. If you are in the area, you should be dancing.

Security – Security will be provided by Lonely Mountain Band for the duration of the event. Any who need escort through the dangerous Lonelands should contact one of the security staff. Transportation will be provided from South Bree and the Forsaken Inn. Should you need assistance Andeon is in charge of the security detail.

Freakout Zone – The Freakout Zone will be a quiet place for players to calm down after the craziness of our concert. The location of the Freakout Zone is in the Forsaken Inn though you may also find help at Candaith’s encampment near the western flank of Weathertop. Casual bands and soloists are encouraged to come and play soothing music to our frazzled guests. Hike to the top of the hill for a grand view of the summit!

Green Room – A green room will be provided for competing bands to warm up prior to performance. Just the thing for a final sound check and to make sure everyone has all the necessary instruments.

General

Remember, use only approved LMB vendors for your hope tokens, pipeweed, food and ale. Take brown lembas at your own risk! It will be a long, hot day so keep hydrated – water and tea are good. Too much ale will put you to sleep and you will miss a chunk of the show and somebody may take advantage and paint your outfit pink while you slumber!

Schedule

And so we come to the last of the Weatherstock Concert Series – it’s been fabulous.

Last, but by no means least are The Runic Knights Orchestra (RKO). Here’s what they have to say about themselves:

Founded during beta, the Runic Knights is one of the largest and oldest active kinships on the Brandywine server. The Runic Knights Orchestra was created in 2009 to help make make Runic Knights events more fun for our members, and to serve as ambassadors for Runic Knights to the Brandywine community.

The Runic Knights Orchestra represents the core, the very heart of the Runic Knights kinship.

The Runic Knights Orchestra plays at kinship events, festivals and stages the occasional random concert on the Brandywine server. Over the past couple years, we have also maintained a presence on the Landroval server and members will occasionally stop by to play a random concert or visit at Ales & Tales.

The vast majority of songs in our extensive library (over 800 songs as of this post) were transcribed by RKO members, including Pinoh, Thjalfi, Rathinosk and Khaladreth.

The library covers a wide variety of music ranging from Medieval/Celtic and Classical music to Jazz, Big Band and Modern Rock, Dance and Pop music. We love music, all music.

Look, there is no point in me telling you anything about the fabulous Songburrow Strollers. They’re Weatherstock winners, they’re hobbits, they have great tunes and lyrics, they love biscuits, they bounce.